Collecting old photos

It can be unique as far as I know…..:D

Mondariz……….

What I’m looking for is something that is more or less unique.

Apologies for being pedandtic. Something is either unique or it isn’t. If there is only one it is unique. If there is more than one it cannot be unique.

Planemike………..

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the advice, I’ll be sure to check your link often. Its not a problem that the photos are German.

Maybe I will limit the collecting to certain aircraft, or photo types, at some stage, but right now I just want some photos to get started.

PS. Agreed, I will leave any He 51 imagery alone:p

Mondariz,

I have been collecting photos for years and I got the majority of mine through ebay. Dealers usually charge prices which are hopelessly out of proportion, so I only got photos from them when I really wanted them.

I check out this link every day to see what photos have been listed on Ebay:
http://sammeln.shop.ebay.de/items/Fotos__W0QQ_nkwZflugzeugQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR4QQ_mdoZSammelnQ2dSeltenesQQ_pcatsZ157544Q2c28714Q2c15502Q2c1QQ_sacatZ15504QQ_sopZ10

You might want to do this too, but as the most pictures were taken by germans in Germany or occupied countries, most of the pictures are of german aircraft. Howver, what has always surprised me is the amount of Fairey Battles that can be found there. It seems that every Battle that was lost in the BoF was photographed more than once. I remember seeing a picture of a crash-landed Battle with the Maastricht bridge in the background.

You can get pretty good deals if you keep your eyes open. But as in every field, there are collectors who have enough money to put in any price they want; “Sudek13” was a very special specimen of the species. Pictures of rare aircraft such as the Do 335 or the He 177 always fetch very good prices. After you’ve been in there for a while you’ll be able to tell the differece between a copy and an original.

Good luck and keep us informed. BTW: should you come across a good photo of an He 51, please don’t bid on it.;)

Another thing: There is no such thing as a unique photo. I see pictures that I have in my collection being listed as originals again and again. No doubt several prints were made.

Regards
Peter

I think anything produced from the negative is an original print. However, it does not have much appeal as a collectable if the picture is still being produced.

What I’m looking for is something that is more or less unique.

This would either be a picture developed around the time it was taken, or a negative that has no, or few, known prints from it.

I have pictures from the Danish Air Force. They would not have been unique around the time they were taken, but 50 years later there are very few in circulation. The negatives, if they still exist, would be somewhere in a huge archive and not easily available for reproductions.

Basically I’m interested in preserving pictures that would otherwise be lost.

I should also add, that I would have no problem sharing digital copies of any picture i collect – under the creative commons license (no commercial use, unless agreed).

An interesting question is – what is an original and what is a reproduction photograph? If the photo in question is a scan, a photocopy or suchlike, reproduced from another print, then the answer to the question is easy. But what about a print produced from a negative? If the print is produced from a negative soon after the film has been exposed or developed, clearly it is an original. But what if, say, a dozen prints are produced at the same time? Are they all original? And what if another print – or several of them – is produced from the negative months or years after exposure and development of the film? And what if I have the negative and produce prints from that decades after the film has been exposed and developed? And what if I acquire a collection of old negatives and produce prints from these? Originals or reproductions? Also how do these scenaria impact upon the market value of the prints produced in the various circumstances suggested as examples? Maybe a photograph is only “original” if the paper is as old as the film from which the negative has been developed? But what then if I produce a print on vintage paper from a period negative or from a negative produced from a hitherto undeveloped roll of film (I don’t know if this is chemically possible)? I don’t know the answers but I shall be interested to hear the views of others on this issue.

I was hoping to start a good bit under £400 😀

I’m following some photos on Ebay (in various countries). They appear to be genuine photos and not a reproduction. Anyway, as in any such venture, I’m prepared to make a few mistakes, before I get an eye for the genuine article.

I have collected other items from Ebay and are aware of the panik-bidding that can take hold. I’m prepared to let items slip and wait for another item to show up. At least untill I get a better feel for whats rare and whats just pictures.

Thanks for your input 🙂

I have been collecting photo’s for a few years now. It can be expensive a shot down Hurricane sold the other day for just over £400 on ebay. If you get out bid there is always something else just as good that comes up.

Dave

Hi Pondskater,

Thanks for a very detailed and helpful post. I will most likely be buying some “Conservation by Design” materials soon.

I have my eye on some pictures currently on Ebay, so hopefully I can start my collection soon. Otherwise I will be hitting the flea markets this spring.

Conservation of old photos is very specialist so it is worth asking going to a museum local to you and asking for advice.

The museum I worked for helped me a lot and pointed to me a company called Conservation by Design which has a full range of specialist storage. When I was last in the Imperial War Museum photo library I noticed they used Conservation by Design plastic sleeves for photos.

Now that is where you need the right advice. Ordinary plastics are very damaging but the right ones will both allow you to see the photo and protect it for deterioration.

Risks are:
Attack by chemical – put them in an envelope and the acids in the paper will damage them, finger prints are worse.
Attack by light – obviously keep them dark
Damage through handing – you need to put each photo in an individual sleeve so you can handle them without risk.

To keep photos dark I use these boxes (click here for link) and store my original photos in the correct polyester album pages. (The page has a link to the album pages). The polyester sleeves let you see the photos but you only touch the sleeve not the photo.

You might notice that Arrowfile advertise in Aeroplane magazine. Their pages are “archive safe” but notice they do not make claims for their albums. So I do use their pages but in Conservation by Design files. I use their albums for my holiday photos.

It is not cheap, but then the photos are not cheap either and they are part of our history.

As for cleaning + conservation, my curator friends all say do nothing unless you absolutely have to. It the original caption label on the back is coming loose, them don’t take the photo out the sleeve you store it in. Don’t use glue or sticky tape unless you get professional advice on which glues etc are safe. A lot of “repairs” can be done in photoshop once you’ve scanned it.

Enjoy the collection

Allan